The technological growth of the computer industry has been progressing at an extremely fast pace. Products that are barely three years old are considered obsolete. The demand for more powerful computers translates into demands of faster data processing speed and greater data storage capacity. The present invention fits in the category of meeting the demand for greater data storage capacity. Presently, data stored on an optical data it storage device are retrieved by observing the behavior of light being reflected from the optical data storage device. As storage capacity increases, the amount of data per unit of area increases. A practical limitation of the storage capacity of an optical data storage device is the size of a spot of light that can be generated by a reader/writer head and the technology available to precisely move and control its position. The present invention discloses a spot of light that is considerably smaller than those currently being used in the market place.
The present invention discloses a novel method and apparatus to produce an extremely small spot of light and electronically control its position.